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Rebel Spring
Rebel Spring is the second novel in the Falling Kingdoms Series. Summary The road to power... is paved with blood and magic. Cleo is now a prisoner in her own palace, forced to be an ambassador for Mytica as the evil King Gaius lies to her people. Magnus stands to eventually inherit the new kingdom but is still obsessed with his feelings for his adopted sister, Lucia. Lucia is haunted by the outcome of the breathtaking display of magic that allowed her father to capture the kingdoms. Jonas watched at the palace gates, a troop of rebels behind him, waiting for him to tell them how he plans to overtake King Gaius. After a bloody siege, Auranos has been defeated, its young queen orphaned and dethroned. The three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now unwillingly united as one country called Mytica. But the allure of ancient, dangerous magic beckons still, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the whole world over.... At the heart of the fray are four brave young people grappling for that magic and the power it promises. For Cleo, the magic would enable her to reclaim her royal seat. In Jonas's hands, it frees his nation, and in Lucia's, it fulfills the ancient prophecy of her destiny. And if the magic were Magnus's, he would finally prove his worth in the eyes of his cruel and scheming father, King Gaius, who rules Mytica with a punishing hand. When Gaius begins to build a road into the Forbidden Mountains to physically link all of Mytica, he sparks a long-smoking fire in the hearts of the people that will forever change the face of this land. For Gaius's road is paved with blood, and its construction will have cosmic consequences. Synopsis This is a spoiler-filled section. It is meant to be used more as a reference for those who have already read the book and desire a refresher on the story line or need the information for some other means. By no means is this meant to be an alternative to reading the book. The book is infinitely more complex and its majesty cannot be captured in a simple, short summary. The book is excellent. If you haven't already, go read it. King Gaius of Limeros has taken over Auranos and Paelsia. Cleiona Bellos, princess of Auranos, has been taken captive. The king, who pretends that Cleo has been accepted lovingly into the family, announces that rather than marrying Lord Aron Lagaris, Cleo shall now be marrying Prince Magnus Damora, the king's son, as a sign of unity between the kingdoms. The king announces construction on a new Imperial Road that will run through the three kingdoms. He says that this, too, shall join the nations together. The king is a real smooth talker and has most of the Auranian people convinced that he will be a great king. Jonas Agallon, a Paelsian rebel, and his friend, Brion Radenos, have created a group of rebels to oppose the king. On one of their missions they meet up with a girl named Lysandra Barbas who has been separated from her brother and wants to join the rebels. Meanwhile, Princess Lucia is in a deep slumber thought to be caused by the force of the magic that she used in the attack against the palace. The king anxiously waits for her to wake. He was told by a new adviser that Lucia will be the key to finding the Kindred. The king’s adviser is Melenia, the eldest Watcher. She tells him that if he does what she says, he will one day discover magic that will make him an immortal god that will rule over all of the world, with her at his side. Gaius is constructing the road to find the Kindred, which are supposedly located in the Forbidden Mountains. Spilling blood on the road has an effect on the elementia in the world and causes great disasters. Melenia has a follower, Xanthus, who is an exiled Watcher with earth magic. He is the head engineer for the road. In her dreams, Lucia meets a Watcher named Alexius who tells her she is going to help restore the Sanctuary, the world of the immortal Watchers where magic has been fading since the death of the last sorceress, Eva. They meet many times and develop feelings for one another. Queen Althea of Limeros has been giving Lucia a special potion to keep her asleep. After having seen how many died as a result of Lucia’s magic, the queen is determined not to let the king corrupt Lucia for his own gain. The queen has been getting the potion from a witch who used blood magic to see the future, a future where Lucia causes much damage with her magic. On a trip to meet the witch, the queen is murdered by a cloaked figure. Jonas kidnaps Cleo when she is away from the castle for a wedding dress fitting. He takes her back to the rebel camp and leaves a note, telling Gaius to stop construction on the road and free the Paelsians, or he will kill Cleo. Jonas does not really intend to kill Cleo, but the king is not concerned over the threat. He sends a search party to find Cleo, but if the rebels kill her, it will only turn the Auranians against the rebel cause. Cleo agrees to help the rebels. Guards find the rebel camp, but Cleo and Jonas escape. As they hide out in a small cave, they kiss, and most of the previous hatred they felt for one another is brushed aside. Cleo suggests that she should return to the palace and pretend to go on with the wedding, and the rebels can attack at the ceremony and attempt to assassinate the king and the prince. The king tells Magnus of the queen’s death, and shows him a dagger that was used to kill her. He says that it is the same one that was used by Lord Aron to kill Jonas’s brother Tomas, so it must be Jonas who killed the queen as revenge for not listening to Jonas’s demands. On the day of the wedding, the rebels attack. They are disguised as guards, and right before Cleo says her vows, they attack. However, the king had guards disguised as citizens in the congregation, and they swarm the rebels killing everyone, except for Jonas, who barely manages to escape. Blood hits the floor, and a massive earthquake splits the ground. Cleo pretends to have had nothing to do with the ambush, but the king doesn’t fall for it. He slaps her and nearly suffocates her before forcing her to continue the wedding ceremony. At the wedding banquet, Cleo speaks with Prince Ashur of Kraeshia, a large kingdom across the Silver Sea. He is interested in learning about the legends of the Kindred, but Cleo gives him no answers. Back in the Sanctuary, Alexius and Melenia meet with one another. Alexius has been working for Melenia. When the road is complete, Lucia’s blood will be spilled, and the Watchers will be released from Sanctuary. Lucia, having woken up for good now that the queen is dead, feels a beast inside of her and a darkness surrounding her. She finds herself constantly on edge and enjoying the fear she can evoke in others with her power. The wedding tour makes a stop at Castle Damora in Limeros, Magnus’ home. A friend of the king gives them the gift of a large stone wheel. These wheels are supposedly used by Watchers to transfer between realms. When alone with the wheel, Cleo touches it, and her ring, once belonging to Eva and a key to controlling the Kindred, begins to glow. Magnus gives his first speech to the people of Limeros. He is cool and confident, and the people love him. At the end, they chant for Magnus and Cleo to kiss. Magnus kisses Cleo to keep up the front that they can actually tolerate one another, and Cleo finds that she doesn’t hate it as much as she probably should. After returning to the Auranian palace, Magnus leaves to join Aron’s search party for the queen’s murder. He is also supposed to meet with Xanthus at the camp in the Forbidden Mountains to gain information for the king who is becoming increasingly paranoid of any danger he might face before he is able to become immortal. While the search party camps out, rebels attempt to steal their weapons. One rebel is caught: Brion. When he refuses to answer questions and denies that Jonas killed the queen, Brion is killed by Aron. Nic, Cleo’s best friend, approaches Cleo and asks her to run away with him. She tells him about her magical ring and says that she must stay at the castle. He confesses his love for her, and when she still refuses, he runs away to a bar where he gets very drunk. At the bar, Prince Ashur questions him about the Kindred and Cleo’s magical ring. Nic gives him no answers and leaves the tavern. Nic wanders the streets drunkenly before running into Ashur again in an alley. He is afraid Ashur is going to kill him. Instead, Ashur kisses him, and Nic is surprised to find himself not stopping Ashur. Ashur tells Nic that he will return, and he knows Nic will help him then. Magnus’ party reaches the mountain camp where he receives a tour from second in command, Franco Rossatas. Aron spots Franco’s beautiful daughter Eugenia and requests that she join him that night for dinner. That night, Magnus ventures to Aron’s tent where he catches Aron attempting to rape Eugenia. Magnus interrupts and sends the girl away. Magnus notices a dagger that Aron had been eating with. Magnus guesses that King Gaius had Aron kill the queen with one of Aron’s daggers that matches, perfectly, the one he had just been using and the one used to kill Tomas. Aron admits that he did it. Magnus intends to take Aron back to the palace to discuss this with his father, but as he turns to walk away, he sees Aron lung towards him in the reflection of a goblet. Magnus kills Aron with a sword through the chest. The rebels attack the camp to avenge Brion’s death. Jonas is caught by a guard and stabbed in the heart. Phaedra, a Watcher who has been looking after Jonas, shifts to her human form, exiling herself from the Sanctuary, and uses her earth elementia to heal Jonas. Magnus catches both of them, but Phaedra is able to prevent him from taking Jonas. Xanthus, who is Phaedra’s brother and who she had not seen since he exiled himself to the mortal world, then appears in the tent, and Phaedra is excited to see him. However, Xanthus is being controlled by Melenia, and he kills Phaedra before disappearing. Jonas escapes and sets out to search for Lysandra, leaving the camp behind as a wildfire burns it to the ground, another consequence of blood spilled on the road. Meanwhile, Lysandra and a few other rebels have been captured and thrown in prison. Lysandra is reunited here with her brother, Gregor, who has been thrown in jail for attempting to assassinate Magnus on his wedding tour. He had been receiving dreams from Phaedra, who told him he could make a difference and that when Lucia’s blood is spilled, the world will burn. In the castle, Cleo goes to visit Lucia, who is sobbing after having accidentally killed her rabbit with her magic. When Cleo comforts her, her ring glows, and Lucia feels more calm and balanced. Cleo and Lucia agree to be friends, and Cleo believes that Lucia is what she needs to take down the king. This summary comes from the website "Recaptains", the link for which is includes below, and was written by Katie Fatiga. It has been slightly edited and links have been added, but most of the original script remains. http://recaptains.co.uk/2016/04/rebel-spring-by-morgan-rhodes/[[Category:Books]]